SF Amituana I F FALETOLU O MAUI TE WAKA
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332 GRYZC SF Amituana i F FALETOLU O MAUI TE WAKA ©All Rights Reserved Email: [email protected] [32 pages] Zabłudów Courtesy: Wikipedia Zabludow occupies a special place in the hearts of the Jewish community worldwide. It is a feeling of great sadness and by the same token great pride that Zabludow invokes in all those who care to remember all of the events that have unfolded in this small Polish town. The story is one of death and survival, but mostly of faith, history and human resilience. The Jewish community of Zabludow has suffered immensely and sadly today, no members of the Jewish community live in this town of 2’400 residents. The once powerful Jewish community suffered at the hands of the Nazis and only four people are said to have survived the holocaust. Nevertheless, Zabludow continues to occupy an important place in the heart of Jewish history and culture. The town is located on the banks of the Meletina River in the Bialystok Province of Poland. Records show earliest settlers arrived in this beautiful part of the world nearly 500 years ago. The history tells a story of economic vibrancy, resilient and powerful Jewish presence and a strong will to survive and endure through the harshness of life. It also emphasizes the depth of despair, war atrocities inflict and how thankfully many Zabludow Jews managed to flee and survive and now can be found in America, Israel, Mexico, Canada, Argentina and other places around the world. The people have survived and though there are no Jews in Zabludow today, the town will always be a stronghold of Jewish faith, a symbol of survival and resilience and Jews worldwide will always harbor pride in their hearts and fondly remember the town. It is essential to preserve the history of Zabludow, to tell the stories of greatness destroyed at the hands of the hateful Nazi regime, to speak of the unspeakable barbarity of the holocaust, to honor those who were slaughtered and celebrate the survival of others. Equally, it is imperative to treasure and celebrate the rich Jewish history of the town, tell stories of the once vibrant community and to foster the resilience of its people, those who sadly lost their lives and those whose are still alive today. The Jewish community is greatly dispersed throughout the world and yet Jewish culture and identity are thriving and the Jewish people value their heritage and treasure their history. Places like Zabludow contribute and are at the heart of Jewish identity and remembering historic events and cherishing times of great abundance gone by further strengthens the resilient Jewish spirit. Great Synagogue, Białystok Courtesy: Wikipedia Białystok - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Białystok Coordinates: 53°07′N 23°09′E Białystok From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Białystok [bʲaˈwɨstɔk] (byah-WIH-stock; Belarusian: Беласток Bielastok, Lithuanian: Balstogė, Russian: Białystok Byalistok) is ביאַליסטאָק :Белосток Belostok, Yiddish the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Located in the Białystok Uplands (Polish: Wysoczyzna Białostocka) of the Podlaskie Plain (Polish: Nizina Północnopodlaska) on the banks of the Biała River, Białystok ranks second in terms of population density, eleventh in population, and thirteenth in area, of the cities of Poland. It has historically attracted migrants from elsewhere in Poland and beyond, particularly from Central and Eastern Europe. This is facilitated by the fact that the nearby border with Belarus is also the eastern border of the European Union, as well as the Schengen Area. The city and its adjacent municipalities constitute Metropolitan Białystok. The city has a Warm Summer Continental climate, characterized by warm summers and long frosty winters. Forests are an important part of Białystok's character, and occupy around 1,756 ha (4,340 acres) (17.2% of the administrative area of the city) which places it as the fifth most forested city in Poland. The first settlers arrived in the 14th century. A town grew up and received its municipal charter in 1692. Białystok has traditionally been one of the leading centers of academic, cultural, and artistic life in Podlaskie and the most important economic center in northeastern Poland. In the 19th century Białystok was an important center for light industry, which was the Flag reason for the substantial growth of the city's Seal population. But after the fall of communism in Poland in 1989 many of these factories faced severe problems and subsequently closed down. Through the infusion of EU investment funds, the city continues to work to reshape itself into a modern metropolis. Białystok in Coat of arms 2010, was on the short-list, but ultimately lost the competition to become a finalist for European Capital of Culture in 2016. Over the centuries Białystok has produced a number of people who have provided unique contributions to the fields of science, language, politics, religion, sports, visual arts and performing arts. This environment was created in the mid-18th century by the patronage of Jan Klemens Branicki for the arts and 1 of 20 22/06/17, 10:07 AM Białystok - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Białystok sciences. These include Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last émigré President of the Republic of Poland; L. L. Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto; and Albert Sabin, the co-developer of the polio vaccine. Białystok Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Geography 3.1 Climate 4 Districts Coordinates: 53°07′N 23°09′E 5 Metropolitan Białystok 6 Demographics Country Poland 7 Governance Voivodeship Podlaskie 8 Military units County city county 9 Economy 10 Culture and tourism Established 1437 10.1 Performing arts Town rights 1692 10.2 Museums Districts 28 Osiedla 10.3 Parks and green spaces 10.4 Architecture Government 11 Sports • City president Tadeusz Truskolaski (PO) 12 Media Area 13 Religion • City 102.12 km2 (39.43 sq mi) 14 Transport 15 Education Highest elevation 160 m (520 ft) 16 Notable residents Lowest elevation 120 m (390 ft) 17 See also Population (2014) 18 References • City 295,459[2] 19 Further reading 20 External links • Metro 370,000 Time zone CET (UTC+1) • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2) Etymology Postal code 15-001 Area code(s) +48 85 The English translation of Białystok is "white Car plates BI slope".[3] Due to changing borders over the centuries, the city has been known as Belarusian: Беласток Website www.bialystok.pl (http://www.bialystok.pl) (Byelastok?, Biełastok? [bʲeɫaˈstok]), Yiddish: ,Byalistok, Bjalistok), Lithuanian: Baltstogė) ביאַליסטאָק Balstogė, and Russian: Белосток (Belostok). Linguist A. P. Nepokupnyj proposes that the language source for Białystok is Yotvingian. Names with the -stok suffix as a second element of a hydronym are localized in the basin of the upper Narew.[4] History 2 of 20 22/06/17, 10:07 AM Białystok - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Białystok Archaeological discoveries show that the first settlements in the area of present-day Białystok occurred during the Stone Age. Tombs of ancient settlers can be found in the district of Dojlidy.[5] In the early Iron Age a mix of Prussians, Yotvingians and Wielbark culture people settled in the area producing kurgans, the tombs of the chiefs in the area located in the current village of Rostołty.[6] Since then, the Białystok area has been at the crossroads of cultures. Trade routes linking the Baltic to the Black Sea favored the development of Branicki Palace settlements with Yotvingia-Ruthenian-Polish cultural characteristics.[6] The city of Białystok has existed for five centuries and during this time the fate of the city has been affected by various political and economic forces. Surviving documents attest that around 1437 a representative of the Raczków family, Jakub Tabutowicz of the coat of arms Łabędź, received from Michael Žygimantaitis son of Sigismund Kęstutaitis, Duke of Lithuania, a wilderness area along the river Biała that marked the beginning of Białystok as a settlement. [7][8] The first brick church and a castle were built between 1617 and 1826. The two-floor castle, designed on a rectangular plan in the Gothic-Renaissance style, was the work of Job Bretfus. Extension of the castle was continued by Krzysztof Wiesiołowski, starost of Tykocin, Grand Marshal of Lithuania since 1635, and husband of Aleksandra Marianna Sobieska.[9] In 1637 he died childless, and as a result Białystok came under the management of his widow. After her death in 1645 the Wiesiołowski estate, including Białystok, passed to the Commonwealth to cover the costs of maintaining Tykocin Castle. In the years 1645–1659 Białystok was managed by the governors of Tykocin and was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[9][10] In 1661 it was given to Stefan Czarniecki as a reward for his service in the victory over the Swedes during the Deluge. Four years later, it was given as a dowry of his daughter Aleksandra, who married Hetman Jan Klemens Branicki, thus passing into the hands of the Branicki family.[11][12] In 1692, Stefan Mikołaj Branicki, the son of Jan Klemens Branicki (Marshal of the Crown Court), obtained city rights for Białystok from King John III Sobieski. He constructed the Branicki Palace on the foundations of the castle of the Wiesiołowski Lubomirski Palace family.[13] In the second half of the eighteenth century the ownership of the city was inherited by Field Crown Hetman Jan Klemens Branicki.[3] It was he who transformed the palace built by his father into a magnificent residence of a great noble.[14][15] The end of the eighteenth century saw the division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in three steps, among the neighboring states. The Kingdom of Prussia acquired Białystok and the surrounding region during the third partition.